


Kings and Jacks

by Anonymous



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Games, M/M, Starjack week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 18:03:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20746460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Starjack week prompt 2 and 4: downtime/hobbiesWheeljack visits Starscream on a rare evening off.





	Kings and Jacks

Wheeljack arrived at Starscream's apartment as per request, bodyguards letting him walk through without a word as if he lived there too.

As Ruler of Cybertron, Starscream didn't have much time for socializing. Wheeljack knew this. Which made these arrangements all the more important, special, even more so due to their casual tone. Starscream's "summons" were short, usually just a line or two informing Wheeljack he had the evening off, and Wheeljack replied equally informally, just something close to 'looking forward to seeing you' .

(Wheeljack still spent an embarrassingly long time getting the wording just right. Because of Starscream's position as Supreme Ruler of Cybertron? Or because he hoped Starscream had the same light headed, gleeful, giddy reaction as he did when the other party paid him attention?)

Starscream's apartment was unchanged from the last time he had been here. A few personal belongings, gaudy crowns, models of his own alt mode, a few wall displays, it all gave the impression of persobability, yet the tinge of 'unlived' still stung. He recalled their last time together alone here, after a few drinks too many Starscream had confessed to barely having any time to himself here besides recharge.

(Wheeljack wondered the last time anyone else had been here. Part of him wished _he_ was the only one he considered a close enough of a friend)

(Could it be true? He didn't want to goad an answer outof Starscream, his lack of visible social life obviously a sore spot that the tabloids loved to paw at. Another rant Starscream had gone off on a previous time.)

"Nice to see you show up, Wheeljack," he said, gesturing to the other of two reclinable chairs in his apartment, a small table separating the two, empty but for a tablecloth of a curious fabric Wheeljack couldn't recognise.

"Thanks for inviting me," Wheeljack said as he took his seat opposite of Starscream, having already tilted the back and assumed a relaxed pose.

"Oh, me too. I've been so busy lately I haven't had a moment to myself," he said with a sigh of anguish "just seeing your face calms me down. Just an evening with you is enough to refresh me..."

Wheeljack's sparkbeat went up. The way Starscream had smiled at him when he said that was mesmerising...

Wheeljack shook his head, shook off his moment of dreamy haze to bring up what he had prepared for the next time the two could meet. Starscream got up, got a pair of cups and a bottle of refined high grade energon wine.

"I actually brought something," Wheeljack said, digging into his subspace.

"Oh?" Starscream's voice was curious as he poured into their glasses.

"Cards."

"What kind of?" Put-on unimpressed voice. Still couldn't hide his curiosity.

"Earth ones-- no, listen-" he said as he saw Starscream's expression change into a frown.

"Here," he handled the stack of cards to Starscream. "I engineered them to cybertronian size, plus, material that won't crumble as easily as earth ones."

Starscream looked at the cards, one by one, as if memorizing their surface designs. "And? What do you do with 'em?"

"There are endless numbers of games with different rules. That's what makes it interesting. Solo games, games with as many players as possible, one-on-one games..."

"Oh, like Lunarian Tiles?" he looked up from the cards for a moment, then back again. "'Guess Autobots wouldn't know, huh..."

"Anyway," Starscream continued, still busy scrolling through the deck of cards. Wheeljack found it cute, the way he was obviously not familiar with how to hold them. "The goal of most of these games is to win, am I right?"

"Well, yes," Wheeljack said with a nod. He was pleased they seemed to have caught Starscream's attention.

"Teach me."

"Of course," Wheeljack said, collecting the deck fron Starscream, whose optics were immediately caucht by Wheeljack's hands starting to shuffle them.

"This card, by the way, reminds me of you," Wheeljack said. 

Starscream squinted at the card Wheeljack held up.

"The King."

"Oh, I see," Starscream said with a smirk, sitting his back straight to concentrate on whatever gamd Wheeljack was going to teach him.

(To win at)

"I feel a kinship with this card," Wheeljack said, holding up a Jack of Spades. "The Black Jack."

===

"...I can't believe you beat me."

"It's your first time playing, I'm sure you'll do better after a few rounds..."

"I can't believe you let me lose..."

"Look, this was just a test round, we'll say it doesn't count..."

"No, no," Starscream said, picking up the Jack he had slapped onto the table in his disastrous defeat.

"Look, I can handle losing," his voice lowered, emotion surprisingly visible in his tone. "I can handle losing. In this ridiculous game made by organics. For some reason it matters less."

"What does," voice sympathetic, Wheeljack enquired.

"I...I always make exceptions." Starscream continued, voice lowered. "For you."

"I don't invite anyone else here. I don't give anyone else the time of day when they want to present me with ridiculous games."

He kept going, Wheeljack touched by his admission. Sure, they'd both been drinking, but even that he didn't do casually around anyone else (Wheeljack hope).

"I don't take anyone defeating me like this either. I'm okay with it. I really am. I want to keep playing. If only."

"If only...?" Wheeljack enquired.

"If only to get to spend more time with you." Starscream confessed, face coloured with energon.

"Gladly." Wheeljack said.

Whatever their relationship was, whatever they both wanted it to be, whatever it could end up being, he was more happy than anything to be a special, unique (precious?) existence in Starscream's life.


End file.
